Renault Pulls Out Of Van Deal With Fiat Chrysler, Is Looking For A New Partner

Renault has decided to end its product collaboration with Fiat Chrysler regarding vans, ahead of the latter’s merger with rivals PSA, said Renault deputy chief exec Clotilde Delbos today.

The van collab was first established under former Renault boss Carlos Ghosn, with the French carmaker producing Fiat’s Talento van at its Sandouville factory in northern France, as reported by Reuters.

According to Delbos, Renault will be looking for new partners as far as vans are concerned. As for rivals PSA, they’re reportedly set to merge with Fiat Chrysler by the end of the first quarter of 2021.

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The Fiat Talento, which is a rebadged version of the Renault Traffic, Opel/Vauxhall Vivaro and Nissan NV300, was just updated last year in September, gaining a 2.0-liter EcoJet diesel engine which meets Euro6d-Temp emission standards. Fiat also added a 7-inch infotainment system with Android Auto and Apple CarPlay inside.

Speaking of vans, on PSA’s end, the French brand was willing to boost its Toyota van production in a bid to address European Union antitrust concerns about its merger with FCA.

PSA currently builds the Toyota ProAce, as well as the Peugeot Expert and Citroen Jumpy at its Sevelnord plant in France. A source close to the issue said that Peugeot was willing to sell these vans at close to “cost price”.

Fiat Chrysler and the PSA Group will merge to create a new joint entity called Stellantis, thus putting together the world’s fourth-largest carmaker by volume.